New York Minute
New York Minute is an American rock band from New York City. Active since 1991, the band has released a total of five studio albums: History Beginnings: 1990-1991 Justin Landay, born 1975, was fifteen when he expressed interest in singing, and soon after began playing the guitar. He suggested that his friend, Trevor Dristel, who was a drummer, join him and form a band, which was originally called Mondays Suck. After a few performances under that name as a two-person band, the duo realized they needed a bassist, and soon after the audition and entering of Rick Johnson, a local bassist, the three discovered that the name Mondays Suck had been taken. The name was changed to New York Minute in early 1991, and after their first performance as a three-piece band in April 1991, it was official that a band had been formed. ''What a Cliché'': 1992-1994 New York Minute had performed over fifty shows total by the spring of 1992, and attracted local interest of record labels, and, in the summer of 1992, signed to Westory Records, and soon began work on their debut studio album under the name New York Minute. By September 1992, the album had been written and recorded, and was in its final stages of production. New York Minute's debut single, "All Over the News", was released on November 2, 1992, and marked their decision to exhibit punk rock-influence in their musical style. The album, titled What a Cliché, was released later that month, on November 29. While the album initially did not chart, the increased airplay and advertisement of lead single "All Over the News" through the winter months of 1992-1993 resulted in the #37 debut on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song reached a peak of #11 in March 1993, and was subsequently followed by the release of the second single from the album, titled "Because That's Just How It Is", was released to mainstream radio and as a CD single on April 20, 1993. The song failed to chart. The band's region-wide tour for the album, from March–October 1993, brought in sales for the album and it eventually debuted and peaked at #183 on the Billboard 200. Disappointed with the results of the two singles and the album, Westory Records dropped New York Minute from their label in December 1993. ''My Drugs & Alcohol'' & Cast Away: 1994-1997 The band signed to Wreckful Records in March 1994, and began work on their follow up album soon afterwards. New York Minute released their first single from the album, "Wish It Was", on July 14, 1994, which was their first song released to feature depressing lyrics and sound, being written mainly by lead singer & guitarist Landay about his ex-girlfriend Jennifer. The song became their most successful at the time, peaking within the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks and the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, and peaked at #89 on the mainstream chart, the Billboard Hot 100. The band's second single from the album, "My Drugs & Alcohol" released October 30, 1994, peaked at #15 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles and peaked at #18 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and at #16 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks. The album, titled My Drugs & Alcohol, was released February 20, 1995, and debuted at #99 on the Billboard 200, managing to sell over 6,000 copies in its first week. The album featured two other singles: "Care Less" and "Down the Highway", though both failed to chart. New York Minute, after its extensive regionwide tour from June 1995-March 1996, the band took a short, few months break to visit with their families, mainly due to exhaustion and Johnson and his wife having a baby. In September 1996, the band began the writing process for their third studio album, though work was slow due to creative differences within the band. After recording about ten songs in early to mid 1997, the band decided not to record the other four and went into an indefinite hiatus. The record label, with the band's permission, released the album, titled Cast Away, on July 31, 1997, and released three singles with it: "Since Forever Ago", "Days Go By", and "One Last Time", though the songs did not prove to be very successful, nor did the release of the album garner more than a few thousand sales with a #200 peak on the Billboard 200. Hiatus: 1997-2003 The members of New York Minute, having built up so much dislike towards each other over the course of the production of Cast Away, refused to speak to each other for several years, with Landay pursuing other musical solo projects while Dristel and Johnson returned to their day jobs, claiming that the years of New York Minute were just a "chapter" in their lives, and eventually the two became friends again. In June 2001, Landay called up Dristel on the phone and apologized for his behavior, to which Dristel accepted but declined to reforming New York Minute, which would also be Johnson's response. However, in April 2003, Dristel and Johnson requested that the three reform and so in September 2003, the band announced, appearing together for the first time in the past six years, that the band had reformed and would soon begin work on a fourth studio album. ''Our Wasteland'' & mainstream success: 2004-2009 In January 2004, the band began the writing process for their fourth studio album, wishing to pursue a different musical direction than before. Had being dropped from Wreckful Records in 1998, the band resigned to major label DaySide Records in May 2004. New York Minute agreed to pursue a more alternative rock-sound, leaving their initial punk rock style evident in their past three albums. However, difficulty in satisfactory for the album resulted in slow production, and the band, which had begun recording the album in late 2004, had not finished the recording process until July 2005, and released the album's lead single, "To Make It Through", on September 12, 2005, and, though it took a while to take off success-wise, it eventually became their most successful single at the time, topping the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks, and peaking at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 2006, not only their first Top 20 hit but also their first Top 40 hit. The album's second single, "Up to Us", was released May 4, 2006, and debuted at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their second Top 40 hit. The album's third single, "Elsewhere", was released to mainstream radio October 8, 2006, and, though it failed to chart on the Hot 100, peaked within the Top 40 of the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and Hot Modern Rock Tracks. The album, titled Our Wasteland, was released December 24, 2006, and debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 125,000 copies in its first week, the most successful album by New York Minute to date. The fourth single, titled "Not Like Before", was released April 27, 2007, and peaked at #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 and within the Top 5 of the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and within the Top 10 of the Hot Modern Rock Tracks. "Cold Nights Alone" was released on August 19, 2007, as the album's fifth and final single, and peaked at #101 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's tour, which was originally intended to be only nationwide, lasted in the US and Canada from April–November 2007, from February–August 2008 for Europe, and November–May 2009 for Asia and Australia. As a result of the worldwide touring and many new fans, Our Wasteland sold over four million records in the US alone, and 15 million worldwide, becoming a huge success for them. Upcoming fifth studio album: 2010-present The band decided to take a break after much touring throughout the rest of 2009 and began work on a fifth studio album in early 2010 and is still in the recording process. The album is intended to be released sometime in late 2010 or early 2011.